Indie Pogo

Indie Pogo is an indie crossover fighting video game developed and published by Lowe Bros. Studios. The game features characters and settings from more than 50 different indie games, such as Shovel Knight, VVVVVV, Teslagrad, the Bit.Trip series, and Freedom Planet.[1] After being successfully funded via Kickstarter in October 2017, the game was released on Microsoft Windows in July 2018. A Nintendo Switch version is scheduled for release in 2021.[2]

Indie Pogo
Steam capsule image featuring a selection of the game's playable characters.[lower-alpha 1]
Developer(s)Lowe Bros. Studios
Publisher(s)Lowe Bros. Studios
Director(s)Trevor Lowe
Programmer(s)Chris Atkins
Artist(s)Tyler Conley
Composer(s)Robbie Dolan
EngineGameMaker Studio
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • WW: July 10, 2018
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: 2021
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

In Indie Pogo, up to four players battle across one of several open arenas with platforms, and attempt to defeat opponents by depleting their health or knocking them off the screen, similar to the Super Smash Bros. series. Unlike other fighting games, the primary gameplay mechanic of Indie Pogo is auto-jumping: characters landing on the ground or a platform will automatically jump back into the air. Every character has access to a set of aerial melee attacks and special moves derived from those used in their original game, such as Shovel Knight wielding his Relics, or Captain Viridian inverting their own gravity. Characters can also perform a double-jump, a directional air-dodge, a mid-air grab, parkour movement on the ground and walls, and a charge-based attack that keeps them on the ground until the button is released. During a battle, players can initiate a "pogo combo" by repeatedly bouncing off opponents' heads without taking damage, ending when the character touches the ground. The player will gain gems by performing a successful pogo combo, and can use five of their gems to activate a character-specific super move. An update in May 2019 added "Augments", gameplay modifiers that can be equipped to a character before a battle. The "Heavy Metal" augment, for example, disables the auto-jump mechanic and allows the player to move freely on the ground.

The game includes a basic arcade mode that pits players against a series of opponents, culminating in a battle against the game's final boss, Crow from Starblade's Nefarious. Players can also participate in Challenge Mode, which tasks them with completing specific scenarios similar to the Event Matches in Super Smash Bros., and Infinite Pogo, in which they must defeat as many opponents as possible before their character's health is depleted. The game supports local four-player battles, as well as online matchmaking. Players will earn coins after each battle, which can be used at an in-game shop to purchase new characters, stages, character skins, and taunts; additional skins are available as premium downloadable content. Coins can also be spent at a gashapon machine for a chance to win collectible in-game trophies based on other indie titles.

Characters

The game featured 14 playable characters at launch. As of December 2020, four additional characters have been added via free updates, with five other characters planned for inclusion for a total of 23.[3]

Fighter Playable Game Creator
Blockman The Blocks Cometh Halfbot
Bullet Kin DLC Enter the Gungeon Dodge Roll
Captain Viridian VVVVVV Terry Cavanagh
CommanderVideo Bit.Trip Choice Provisions
Diogenes DLC Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy Bennett Foddy
Dust DLC* Dust: An Elysian Tail Humble Hearts
Fishy Shütshimi Neon Deity Games
Gunvolt DLC* Azure Striker Gunvolt Inti Creates
Jack Jack the Reaper Dream's Bell
Kick DLC Divekick Iron Galaxy
Meat Boy DLC* Super Meat Boy Team Meat
Octodad DLC* Octodad: Dadliest Catch Young Horses
Orcane Rivals of Aether Dan Fornace
Penelope The Next Penelope Aurélien Regard
Sash Lilac Freedom Planet GalaxyTrail
Shovel Knight Shovel Knight Yacht Club Games
Stardrop Stardrop Lowe Bros. Studios
Teslakid Teslagrad Rain Games
Velocispider Velocispider Retro Dreamer
Voltar the Omniscient DLC* Awesomenauts Ronimo Games
Welltaro Downwell Ojiro "Moppin" Fumoto
Yolk DLC Leap Day Nitrome
Zorbié Zorbié Étienne Périn and Simon Périn

Notes:

^* Not yet released

Development

Indie Pogo drew inspiration during development from the Super Smash Bros. series and an iOS game called Slam Bots, in an effort to make a multiplayer version of that game.[4] According to game director Trevor Lowe, the auto-jumping mechanic "keeps gameplay always in motion".[5] The game was self-funded by Lowe Bros. Studios for three years before launching a Kickstarter campaign on September 12, 2017 with a $25,000 funding goal. By the end of the campaign, the game had raised nearly $42,000.[6]

Reception

Indie Pogo was positively received by critics. PushDustIn of Source Gaming praised it for being easy to get into and said that the game was "everything [he] wanted out of an Indie crossover fighting game".[7] Ryan Silberman of The Inner Circle Games Network stated that Indie Pogo was a love letter to the Indie industry, and that the developers "went for a quality-over-quantity approach".[8]

Notes
  1. Characters pictured include (clockwise from left): Fishy, CommanderVideo, Orcane, Lilac, Viridian, Jack, Teslakid, Welltaro, Shovel Knight, and Velocispider.

References
  1. Valdez, Nick (September 13, 2017). "Adorable indie mascot fighter Indie Pogo will make you jump jump". Destructoid. Enthusiast Gaming.
  2. Craddock, Ryan (December 24, 2020). "Smash-Like Brawler Indie Pogo Is Coming To Switch With All DLC Included". Nintendo Life. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  3. "Indie Pogo (Game)". Giant Bomb.
  4. Cousins, Jon (October 1, 2017). "Feature: Learn More About Indie Pogo, a Quirky Brawler Featuring Iconic Nindies". NintendoLife. Nlife Media.
  5. "How to play...Indie Pogo". Lowe Bros. Studios via YouTube. September 14, 2017.
  6. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1642689247/indie-pogo
  7. "Indie Pogo (PC) Review". Source Gaming. July 10, 2018.
  8. "Indie Pogo (PC) Review". The Inner Circle Games Network. July 20, 2018.
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